7) Memory Flashcards
Memory
The retention of information over time
far from perfect!
Memory Illusion
false but subjectively compelling memory
Attention
Focusing awareness on a narrowed range of stimuli or events
Hard to pay attention to everything all at once
Why is attention important?
because we first need to pay attention in order to remember things
It affects our memory & performance
Inattention Blindness
when we don’t notice something that’s right in front of our eyes because we are too busy focusing on other things
-> we’re not good at multitasking!
Name the 4 basic processes of memory
- Attention
- most important step - Encoding
- forming a memory code - Storage
- the process of maintaining info in memory - Retrieval
- recover / reactivate info from memory systems
What’s a retrieval cue?
some hint that helps us recall info
What is a schema?
Organized knowledge structure or mental model that we’ve stored in memory
Why are schemas important?
How can they be unhelpful?
Equip us with frames of reference for interpreting new situations. Without them, we’d find some info impossible to comprehend
BUT can make us remember things that never happened. Oversimplifying schemas = memory illusions
Sensory Memory
Brief storage of perceptual info before it is passed to STM / working memory or discarded
Briefly preserves info in its original form (fraction of a second), linking things tgt
What are the 3 forms of sensory memory?
- Iconic memory - visual
- Echoic memory - hearing
- Haptic memory - touch
What is short term memory?
What are its capacity and duration?
System that retains a limited capacity/duration
Duration: maintain unrehearsed information for ~ 20 seconds
Capacity: magic number is 7 +- 2 (George Miller)
Rehearsal
Process of repeating or thinking about the info
Extend duration of retention
What are the 2 types of rehearsal?
- Maintenance
- repeat in original form, sound & looks - Elaborative
- link stimuli in meaningful way
Chunking
Grouping familiar stimuli to store as one unit
Need long term memory to help us chunk meaningfully
Extend capacity of STM
Describe the levels of processing
- Shallow = structural
- What it looks like - Intermediate = Phonemic
- What they sound like - Deep = Semantic
- thinking about the meaning
Visual Imagery
Creating mental images to help memory formation
High visual imagery means easy to imagine as objects, like a ball
Low visual imagery means abstract things like truth or quality
Self Referent Encoding
Relating the information back to personal experiences
Promotes additional elaboration & organization info
What are three ways we can enhance encoding?
- Deep level of processing
- Visual imagery
- Self-Referent Encoding
Working Memory
A limited capacity storage system
Maintains info by providing interface between perception, memory, & action
Baddeley said
short term memory should be replaced with working memory
Central Executive
Decision making
Coordinate actions
Controls attention
Phonological Loop
Auditory component similar to STM
Allow recitation of info
Episodic Buffer
Interface btwn working and long term memory
Temporary limited capacity store for integration of info from other modules
Helps explain binding problem
Visuo-Spatial SketchPad
Temporarily hold & manipulate visual images
ex/ method of Loci, buying furniture
What are the 4 components of working memory?
Central executive
Phonological loop
Episodic Buffer
Visuo-Spatial SketchPad
What is the binding problem?
When we store info, they’re stored in diff places
How does it come together?
Episodic Buffer can sorta explain this
Long term memory
Larger capacity & longer retention
Diff kinds of mistakes (semantic errors)
LTM makes ___ errors while STM makes ____ errors
semantic // acoustic
Name the divisions in LTM
- Explicit
a. Semantic
b. Episodic - Implicit
a. Procedural
b. Priming
c. Habituation
d. Conditioning
Explicit memory
Declarative
Intentional recollections of facts or experiences
Divided into Semantic & Episodic
Semantic memory
a type of explicit memory
General knowledge & facts
NOT tied to when info was learned
Episodic memory
a type of explicit memory
Chronologically dated recollections of personal experiences
Can become semantic!
Implicit memory
memories we don’t deliberately / consciously remember
Procedural Memory
a type of implicit memory
How to do specific things
Motor skills & habits
-> ex/ do worse if we focus too hard
muscle memory can be described as
procedural, implicit memory
Priming
implicit memory, not aware of this!
When previously encountered stimuli impacts future behavior
Ability to identify stimulus more easily / quickly after encountering smt similar
Conditioning
implicit memories we not aware of
Pair NS + UCS to elicit automatic response
Habituation
learning not to respond to repeated or unimportant stimuli
Discuss the difference between explicit & implicit memory
Explicit
- Consciously aware
- Assessed directly by recall / recognition
- Involves skeletal muscles (PNS)
- Impacted by age (mostly episodic), drugs, amnesia, retention interval
Implicit
- Not consciously aware
- Assessed indirectly by relearning
- Involves ANS
- Not impacted by age, drugs, amnesia, retention interval
Discuss the difference between explicit & implicit memory
Explicit
- Consciously aware
- Assessed directly by recall / recognition
- Impacted by age (mostly episodic), drugs, amnesia, retention interval
Implicit
- Not consciously aware
- Assessed indirectly by relearning
- Not impacted by age, drugs, amnesia, retention interval
A man suffering from amesia can’t recall his home phone number when asked, but his fingers dial the correct numbers when given a phone. This suggests that the amnesia affects ____ memory but not ____ memory
Semantic // Procedural
OR
Explicit // Implicit
^^ first one better, more specific
Permastore
type of LTM that seems to be permanent
Primary & Recency Effect
Tendency to remember words at beginning and end of a list better
Serial Position Curve
Graph depicting the effects of people’s ability to recall items on a list
What are some different methods to test capacity and duration of short term memory?
Digit span test : capacity
Remember digits & do math : duration
Explain methods and findings of Sperling’s study.
What does it tell us about sensory memory?
Participants stare at screen and rows of letters are flashed briefly
Then participants tried to repeat letters in the row indicated by tone
Found that in iconic memory, we store a perfect image of the visual world for a brief moment before it is discarded (this helps link things tgt, smooth view)
Who is HM?
Most studied man in the history of medical science (memory)
Guy who got lots of seizures at young age, did surgery that gave him brain damage
Can’t form new long term memories
Retrograde Amnesia
Can’t retrieve memories for some time prior to when brain damage occurred
Retrograde Amnesia
Can’t retrieve memories for some time before brain damage
Anterograde Amnesia
Can’t form new memories after when brain damage occurred
More common
Myth about amnesia
memory comes back in a flash
-> it actually can come back but gradually
What lessons did we learn from HM, and describe the supporting evidence
- Difference btwn short & long term memory
- Digit span test
- STM: had normal STM span (6 digits)
- LTM: cannot remember anything more than that^ - Difference btwn implicit & explicit memory
- Mirror drawing test
- Explicit: he says he cannot remember doing this before
- Implicit: muscle memory is getting better
- shows that he can form new procedural memory - Diff types of memory may be encoded & stored in diff areas of brain
- moved to new house 5 years after brain surgery, but can still draw floor plan of house
- shows that he cannot form new memories but can make spatial memory
Alzheimers
memory loss due to loss of synapses and acetylcholine NT
- forget recent first, then older memories
Karl Lashley
Further shows that memories are stored in diff areas
Trained rats to run a maze, lesioned their brains in diff areas
1. Less brain / more lesions = poorer performance
2. No matter where tissue was removed, some memory of the maze persisted
Long term potentiation
gradual strengthening of connections among neurons from repetitive stimulation
enhance release of glutamate into synapse
strength of synapse increase: more receptors and NT released
Where is memory stored?
in diff areas of the brain
Hippocampus
- factual memories, events themselves
Amygdala
- emotional memories, what we felt during the event (esp fear)
- memories solidified by adrenalin and norepinephrine
Consolidation
Hypothetical process where info is gradually converted into memory codes to be stored in LTM
Flashbulb memory
super vivid & detailed emotional memory
Just like any other memory but more intense
Can change over time
Ebbinghaus
forgetting curve, used random words by himself
irl, meaningful stimuli easier to retain
Retention and retention interval
proportion of material remembered
time between presentation of material & memory measure (how long we can remember)
What are some ways to measure memory?
- Recall
- Recognition
- Relearning
Recall
memory measure that requires reproduction of info without retrieval cues
ex/ short answers
Recognition
Measure of retention that requires selecting previously learned info from options
ex/ mc questions
Relearning
Measure of retention that requires a subject to reacquiring stuff we learned before but forgot over time
Determine how much time / how many trials are saved by having learned before
Often a test of implicit memory
Relearning
Measure of retention that requires reacquiring stuff we learned before but forgot over time
Determine how much time is saved
Often a test of implicit memory
How can we test implicit memory?
By relearning, seeing how much time is saved
Distributed vs Massed Practice
Studying info in small increments over long time VS large increments over brief time
We tend to remember things in the long run when we use distributed practice
What are some reasons why we forget?
- Pseudoforgetting
- Decay theory
- Interference theory
- Retrieval failure
Pseudoforgetting
Can’t recall info becuz we didn’t encode it well in the first place
Due to lack of attention or superficial encoding
Reason why we forget smb’s name quickly
Decay Theory
Forgetting over time, evidence in STM
Interference Theory
Forgetting due to competition from other material in LTM or additional incoming info
Usually the reason why we forget
What is usually the reason we forget, interference or decay?
interference
What is the probe digit experiment and what did it show?
Study by Waugh & Norman
Find whether it is decay or interference that causes us to forget more
Recite numbers and at beep try to remember the number that came after current number
Found that it is interference!
Importance of information type in intereference
Type matters! Similar things interferes more
Retroactive interference
New info impairs retention of previously learned info
ex/ do bad when we study Econ then psych then take econ test
Proactive interference
previously learned material interfere with our retention of new material
ex/ know French, hard to learn Spanish
Retrieval failure
temporary unable to remember something we know
could happen when conditions between encoding & retrieval is different
related to tip of tongue and encoding specificity principle
Tip of Tongue phenomenon
Retrieval failure
Experience of knowing that we know smt but unable to access it
Temporary inability to remember smt you know, feeling that it’s just out of reach
Encoding Specificity Principle
Memory is improved when conditions during encoding and retrieval are similar
Context dependent: Retracing steps when forgot key
State dependent: Matching internal state at encoding & retrieval (ex drunk)
Mood dependent : Matching mood at encoding to retrieval
What are the 7 sins of memory?
Sins of commission:
Suggestibility
Misattribution
Bias
Persistence
Sins of omission:
Transcience
Blocking
Absentmindedness
Sins of commission vs omission
commission is doing something to the memory
omission is forgetting the memory
Suggestibility
Sin of commision
Tendency to incorporate misleading info from external sources into personal recollections
Misinformation effect
Implant false memories
Importance of misinformation effect irl
faulty eyewitness testimony make innocent ppl go to jail
Misinformation effect
part of suggestibility
creating new unreal memories or changing existing ones
provide misleading info AFTER event occurs
impacted by phrasing!
False memories
part of suggestibility
Implanted by therapy or stories
Suggestive memory technique: Procedure that encourages patients to recall memories that may or may not have taken place
Dream interpretation, hypnosis, Imagination, exposure to false info
ex/ When you were young, you got lost at the mall…
Misattribution
Sin of commission
Source monitoring confusion
Imagination inflation
Cryptomnesia
Source Monitoring confusion
part of misattribution
lack of clarity about origin of a memory
i.e. when, where, & how we acquired it
Imagination inflation
part of misattribution
imagining an event makes us more likely to believe that it happened
if we confuse it with smt that actually happened, that’ll become source monitoring confusion
Cryptomnesia
part of misattribution
failure to recognize that our ideas originated with someone else
Bias
Sin of commision
Present knowledge, beliefs, and feelings distort / influence previous experiences
Persistence
Sin of commission
Intrusive recollection of events that we wish we could forget but cannot
ex/ PTSD
Transcience
Sin of omission
Forgetting with time
Events from past becomes more vague, our minds fill in blank spaces
Decay & Interference…
Blocking
Sin of omission
failure to retrieve info that is available in memory
ex/ tip of tongue
Absentmindedness
sin of omission
Pseudoforgetting or lapse in attention that results in memory failure
Failures of prospective memory…
Prospective memory
Remembering to remember an intention in the future
can be an action or event
Difference between time and event cues
time:
remembering to do smt at certain time, and feeling the time elapse
event:
drive by school and remember to pick up kids
Mnemonics
Learning aid/strategy that enhances recall
What are some examples of mnemonics?
Rhymes
Acrostics
Acronym
Method of Loci
Link Method
Narrative Method
Keyword Method
Pegboard Method
Acrostic
phrase or poem where first letter of each word is a cue to aid recall of info
Some people remember directions using the phrase “never eat soggy wheat”
This is an example of what type of mnemonic?
Acrostic
Acronym
word formed out of first letter of a series of words
ROYGBIV is an example of what kind of mnemonic?
acronym
Link Method
forming mental image of items to be remembered in a way that links them together
Method of Loci
Taking an imaginary walk along a familiar path where visual images of items to be remembered are associated with certain locations
Narrative Method
Creating a story that includes list of keywords in order
Keyword method
Associating a concrete word with an abstract word and generate an image to represent the concrete word
Pegboard Method
ex/ one is a bun, two is a shoe, three is a tree
Then associate the order u want to each item above
Learning & music
learning info put to a melody improves long term retention
Memory for infants
Display implicit memory for events
Memory is influenced by some of the same factors as adult’s memory
Engram
Physical trace of each memory in the brain
Why does our memory become more sophisticated as we grow up?
- Memory span increase
- Physical maturation
- Better use of strategies like rehearsal
- doesn’t become 7+-2 until 12yrs old! - Conceptual understanding / knowledge of world increase
- need this to chunk & store in meaningful way - Develop enhanced meta-memory
- help identify when we need strategies to improve memory & know what works best
Meta memory
knowledge about our own memory abilities & limitations
Infantile Amnesia
Inability of adults to remember experiences that happened at early age
What is the False Memory Controversy?
Memories of past trauma can be shaped by techniques in psychotherapy
Repress & recover memories years later
VS
“recovered” memories may be due to suggestive therapeutic procedures that induce false recollections
What are some tips that can help us remember better?
- Use distributed practice rather than massed
- Testing Effect
- Elaborate rehearsal
- Deep level of processing
- Mnemonics and cues to connect things tgt!
